March Madness: Andrew Wiggins helps Kansas pull off win

Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., scored 19 points, Jamari Traylor and Perry Ellis had double-doubles and second-seeded Kansas pulled away down the stretch to beat pesky Eastern Kentucky 80-69 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Kansas 80, Eastern Kentucky 69

ST. LOUIS — Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., scored 19 points, Jamari Traylor and Perry Ellis had double-doubles and second-seeded Kansas pulled away down the stretch to beat pesky Eastern Kentucky 80-69 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Traylor finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Ellis had 14 points and 13 boards for the Jayhawks (25-9), who trailed 56-53 with 9 minutes to go before their game-ending charge.

They advanced to play No. 10 seed Stanford, a 58-53 winner over seventh-seeded New Mexico, on Sunday in the third round of the South Regional.

Mercer 78, Duke 71

RALEIGH, N.C.— Daniel Coursey scored 17 points and Mercer pulled off the biggest upset in the NCAA tournament so far by knocking off Duke.

Jakob Gollon added 20 points for the 14th-seeded Bears.

The Bears were simply too much for a Duke team with stars Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood.

Mercer scored 11 straight points during the late 20-5 run that clinched the biggest victory in school history. It's the second one-and-done in three years for the third-seeded Blue Devils. Mercer won the Atlantic Sun conference championship. That's the same conference that produced 2013 tournament darling Florida Gulf Coast.

Baylor 74, Nebraska 60

The Bears (25-11) kept up a two-month tear and will play either No. 3 seed Creighton or No. 14 seed Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday. Baylor has won 11 of 13 after a dismal start in the Big 12, recapturing the kind of momentum that vaulted the Bears to the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2012.

Terran Petteway scored 18 points for Nebraska (19-13), which fell to 0-7 in tournament history.

The Cornhuskers hadn't played on this stage since 1998 and often looked like it. Frustration boiled over for Big Ten coach of the year Tim Miles, who was ejected with 11 minutes left.

Stanford 58, New Mexico 53

ST. LOUIS — Chasson Randle scored 23 points and No. 10 seed Stanford made an impression in its first NCAA appearance since 2008, leading almost start to finish in a 58-53 victory over seventh-seeded New Mexico.

The Cardinal (22-12) built an early 16-point lead then held on after New Mexico rallied to tie it midway through the second half. They got four crucial free throws from reserve Robbie Lemons and Randle in the final half-minute after New Mexico had cut the deficit to two points. They will play the Eastern Kentucky-Kansas winner on Sunday in the third round.

Cameron Bairstow had 24 points and eight rebounds but the Lobos (27-7) got off-days from their other top threats. Kendall Williams and Alex Kirk, who together average 30 points, combined for just six.

New Mexico has been one and done the last two seasons, losing as the No. 3 seed to Harvard last year under coach Steve Alford and now as the No. 7 under Craig Neal.

Stanford got away with an off-day from Dwight Powell, who missed all eight shots, fouled out and scored three points. Powell averages 14.2 points, second on the team.

Anthony Brown added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinal and Stefan Nastic had 10 points and five rebounds.

Stanford hit eight of its first 10 shots and scored 17 straight points, including six from Randle, for a 20-4 lead with 13:23 to go in the first half.

New Mexico went 6:26 between points and more than 7 minutes between baskets before gaining its footing. The Lobos kept feeding it to Bairstow and ended the half on an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 32-27.

They tied it at 45 near the mid-point of the second half before going scoreless for nearly 7 minutes.

Tennessee 86, Massachusetts 67

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jarnell Stokes scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help Tennessee beat Massachusetts 86-67 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Jordan McRae added 21 points for the Volunteers (23-12), the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Regional. Tennessee had little trouble with the sixth-seeded Minutemen (24-9), shooting 54 per cent from the field and handling UMass' fullcourt pressure in a surprisingly one-sided performance that included another solid defensive showing.

The Vols are in the NCAAs for the first time in three seasons, starting with a First Four overtime win against Iowa. Now they are headed to Sunday's third round to face 14th-seeded Mercer, who upset Duke in Friday.

Chaz Williams and Maxie Esho scored 12 points each for UMass in its first NCAA appearance since 1998. But the Minutemen fell behind by double figures early, trailed by 20 points before halftime and never got closer than 10 again.

Creighton 76, Louisiana-Lafayette 66

SAN ANTONIO — Doug McDermott scored 30 points and third-seeded Creighton got three huge 3-pointers in the second half from Ethan Wragge to beat No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette 76-66 Friday in the West Regional.

McDermott had a double-double by halftime but went scoreless for nearly 14 minutes of the second half, leaving it to Wragge's long shots to bail out the Bluejays from a potential upset by Ragin' Cajuns, who attacked Creighton (27-7) with fearless defence and rebounding.

The win means the Creighton family keeps marching on its final days together. McDermott, the nation's leading scorer, opted against going to the NBA after last season to play one more year with his father, Creighton coach Greg McDermott.

Arizona 68, Weber State 59

SAN DIEGO — Nick Johnson scored 18 points, Aaron Gordon added 16 and top-seeded Arizona overcame a shaky start and a late run by Weber State to beat the Wildcats 68-59 in the NCAA tournament's West Regional.

Arizona (31-4) fell into an eight-point hole in the opening minutes to give the 16th-seeded Wildcats hope of a monumental upset.

The desert Wildcats tried to squash the dream quickly with two big second-half runs, but Weber State fought its way back from a 21-point deficit to make it close in the second half.

Arizona blocked 12 shots, held Weber State to 30 per cent shooting and made 55 per cent of its shots to earn a spot in Sunday's third round against Gonzaga or Oklahoma State.

Davion Berry had 24 points to lead Weber State (19-12) in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007.

Gonzaga 85, Oklahoma State 77

SAN DIEGO — Kevin Pangos scored 26 points and Gary Bell Jr. added 17 for eighth-seeded Gonzaga, which beat Marcus Smart and the ninth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys 85-77 in the West region of the NCAA tournament.

The Bulldogs (29-6), in their 16th straight NCAA tournament, will play top-seeded Arizona on Sunday.

The refs called 61 fouls, and five players fouled out. Pangos made 12 of 14 free throws, most of them in the closing minutes.

Smart had 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals for Oklahoma State (21-13). He is projected to be a high NBA draft pick. He passed up the NBA draft last year. The Cowboys won five of seven games coming in, a run that coincided with Smart's returning from a three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan.

Memphis 71, Washington 66

RALEIGH, N.C. — Michael Dixon Jr. scored 19 points and hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help Memphis hold off George Washington 71-66 on Friday night in the second round of the East Regional.

Joe Jackson added 15 points for the eighth-seeded Tigers (24-9). They entered the tournament having lost three of five to fall out of the national rankings, and shot 49 per cent in this one but struggled to put the ninth-seeded Colonials away until the final seconds.

Isaiah Armwood scored a season-high 21 points after playing the final 12 minutes with four fouls for ninth-seeded GW (24-9), which was just 2 of 12 from 3-point range yet never fell behind by more than 10 points.

Leading scorer Maurice Creek — who averages 14 points — finished with nine on 2-of-13 shooting for GW, but he airballed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have tied it.

North Carolina 79, Providence 77

SAN ANTONIO — James Michael McAdoo sank two free throws in the final 3.5 seconds, and No. 6 seed North Carolina rallied to beat 11th-seeded Providence 79-77.

Providence's Bryce Cotton scored a career-high 36 points and made one dazzling shot after another down the stretch. But he also fumbled a long rebound in the final moments, robbing the Friars of a chance for a last-second miracle.

Had North Carolina (24-9) lost, it would've been the first time since 1979 the Tar Heels and rival Duke lost on the same day of the tournament.

The Blue Devils fell earlier to 14th-seeded Mercer, and the Friars nearly handed North Carolina a similar stunner.

Marcus Paige led North Carolina with 19 points.

Wichita State 64, Cal Poly 37

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cleananthony Early had 23 points and unbeaten Wichita State faced no resistance from Cal Poly, going to 35-0 for the best start in NCAA history with a 64-37 rout of Cal Poly in the Midwest Region.

The Shockers (35-0) dominated from the tip-off against the only team with a sub-.500 record in the tournament. With the exception of Early, most of the glaring numbers were on defense. The losers managed 13 points in the first half and shot 21 percent.

Malik Love had nine points for Cal Poly (14-20), which won the Big West tournament as the No. 7 seed and beat Texas Southern in First Four game before being held to a season low for points. Chris Eversley, the Big West tourney MVP and coming off a 19-point game, was held to six points on 2-for-14 shooting.

Stephen F. Austin 77, Virginia Commonwealth 75

SAN DIEGO — Desmond Haymon scored on an improbable four-point play with 3.6 seconds in regulation and hit a big 3-pointer in overtime to lead No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin to a 77-75 win over fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA tournament's South Region.

VCU (23-10) was firmly in control for most of the second half before SFA (32-2) rallied in the closing seconds.

Haymon hit one of the biggest — and most improbable — shots of what's already been a wild March, knocking down a 3-pointer and a free throw after being fouled by Jordan Burgess at the end of regulation.

Haymon hit another 3-pointer to put SFA up with 2 minutes left, but VCU had a final shot after Thomas Walkup missed 1 of 2 free throws with 14 seconds left. JeQuan Lewis got an open 3-pointer, but it went long and SFA snared the rebound.

Iowa State 93, North Carolina Central 75

SAN ANTONIO — Georges Niang scored 24 points to lead third-seeded Iowa State as the Cyclones pulled away from No. 14 North Carolina Central in the second half for a 93-75 win in the East Region.

The Big 12 tournament champions found themselves in an early struggle with a program making its first NCAA tournament appearance in just its third year as a full-time Division I program. But the Cyclones' quickness and balance eventually took over.

Iowa State (27-7) had four players score in double figures. Niang's two 3-pointers early in the second half keyed Iowa State's run that put the game away.

Jeremy Ingram scored 28 for North Carolina Central (28-6), which came in on a 20-game win streak and won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Virgina 70, Coastal Carolina 59

The Cavaliers, the top seed in the East Region, trailed by 10 in the first half and five at halftime to the 16th-seeded Chanticleers before pushing ahead for good with about 9 minutes left.

A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, and the Cavs (29-6) ensured history would wait at least another year.

Evan Nolte came off the bench and hit two huge 3-pointers to help Virginia finally push away from the Big South champion Chanticleers (21-13), who were in the tournament for the first time in 21 years.

The game was tied at 47 before Nolte's 3s powered a 23-7 spurt that finally put the game away.

Kentucky 56, Kansas State 49

The preseason No. 1, Kentucky (25-10) is finally starting to live up to the expectations that came with its heralded recruiting class. John Calipari's bunch nearly knocked of Florida in the SEC title game last week and seemed to carry that momentum into the NCAA tournament Friday night.

Now, the question is whether it will continue on Sunday. The Shockers rolled over Cal Poly to improve to 35-0 earlier in the night.

UCLA 76, Tulsa 59

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jordan Adams scored 21 points and Norman Powell added 15 in his hometown to lead fourth-seeded UCLA to a 76-59 victory over 13th-seeded Tulsa, spoiling the NCAA tournament head coaching debut of Danny Manning.

UCLA (27-8) advances to Sunday's third round in the South region against 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin, which upset No. 5 VCU 77-75 in overtime.

In his first year at Westwood, Steve Alford coached the Bruins to just their third win in the NCAA tournament since 2009. It came in the city where John Wooden won the last of his 10 national championships, in 1975.

Tulsa (21-13) had its 11-game winning streak snapped. Manning led Kansas to the 1988 title and won another championship as a Jayhawks assistant coach six years ago.

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